Windsor International Airport (YQG) is a vital part of our economic community, and without Air Traffic Control the benefits the airport provides are threatened. These benefits include economic stimulus to the city in the form of dividends and jobs, access to air travel, and safety.

The airport is a business that the city has invested in which provides the city with an annual dividend of about $1 million. The profits from the airport come in the form of land leasing, airplane landing fees, and facility fees paid by airlines, and other private aviation business. Without air traffic control, some airlines will be hesitant to continue service to the airport, and this will decrease airport profits and reduce annual dividends to the city. Without airlines flying to the airport jobs such as security, baggage handlers, customer service agents, refuellers, and the air traffic controllers themselves will be lost.

Access to air travel is an important factor for a city. YQG is an international airport that services destinations across Canada, and to far away places such as the Caribbean. Without air traffic control, the airlines that made these destinations possible might discontinue service to the airport to avoid hefty insurance premiums due to the airport not having air traffic control. These means in order to fly to your favourite destinations once accessible from Windsor you would have a 4 hour drive to Toronto Pearson on top of an already lengthy flight.

The most important factor out of all of this is safety. Air traffic controllers provide an extra layer of safety to air travel. The Windsor airspace is busy especially with the Detroit airspace laying directly above it. The Windsor Airport is home to two busy flight schools with students learning to fly. There could at any time be more than 5-6 planes from the flight schools inbound to land. Along with many beginner pilots learning to fly, there is a lot of corporate business aviation at the airport as well. Finally, to top it all off Air Canada Jazz still flies to Windsor a few times a day. Imagine how much confusion there would be without air traffic control.

Windsor's air traffic control is a vital part of our airport, and we cannot afford to go without it.